Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a silent killer. The gas is odorless, tasteless and colorless and therefore, it gives no evidence of its existence. Exposure to CO can arise from many sources. Household appliances such as gas stoves and ovens, central heating systems, water heaters, cookers and open fires can be possible sources of CO gas in a home. CO can also arise from an improperly vented generator in a home or business, or from a car left running in a closed garage. Unless a CO detector is fixed in place in the location of exposure, there will be no alert and lives may be lost to CO poisoning.
Unfortunately, CO detectors are not always installed in many potential danger spots, such as in a garage enclosure, in a construction site where power is supplied by a temporary generator, or in a structure in which building codes do not require the installation of a CO detector. In most of these locations however, people are typically in possession of a portable phone device, and in most instances, that portable phone device is enclosed with a protective phone case.